Socket for incandescent lamps or discharge tubes comprising two parallel contact sleeves



Sept. 22, 1953 J. H. F. VAN WERD 2,653,303

7 FOR INCANDES OR DISCHARGE SOCKET CENT LAMPS TUBES COMPRISING TWO PARALLEL C N ACT SLEEVES Filed Aug. 24,

IN V EN TOR. JOHANNES HENDRICUS FRANCISCUS VAN WERD AGENT Patented Sept. 22, 1953 SOCKET FOR INCANDESCENT LAMPS OR DISCHARGE TUBES COMPRISING TWO PARALLEL CONTACT SLEEVES Johannes Hendricus Franciscus van Werd, Eindhoven, Netherlands, assignor to Hartford National Bank and Trust Company, Hartford,

Conn., as trustee Application August 24, 1950, Serial N 0. 181,146 In France September 1, 1949 3 Claims.

This invention relates to sockets comprising two contact sleeves located side by side and intended for use with incandescent lamps or discharge tubes having two contact pins, so called bipost lamps.

It is known to provide such sockets with two contact sleeves which are resiliently secured to a base, since it is necessary that in constructing the socket allowance should be made for the fact that'the two contact pins of the lamp are not exactly parallel to one another and furthermore are not spaced exactly as prescribed. If the contact sleeves were arranged to be fixed, there is a great risk of breakage of the glass of the lamp or tube.

However, the use of resiliently supported sleeves in the socket involves the disadvantage that the whole lamp is supported resiliently.

The object of the invention is to provide a socket which, even in the case of contact pins which are not arranged particularly accurately does not give rise to breakage and which permits very rigid securing of the lamp or tube. Furthermore, this socket is of a very simple construction.

The starting point of the invention is constituted by the known geometrical thesis that two arbitrary lines can always provide two planes which are at right angles to one another.

The socket according to the invention comprises two contact sleeves which are slidable in two planes at right angles to one another. Each sleeve may preferably be clamped between two parallel surfaces, the surfaces being pairwise perpendicular to one another. The surfaces may be such that their spacing is adjustable so as to enable a lamp or tube to be introduced into its socket, whilst the sleeves are more or less loose between the surfaces so as to be capable of adlusting themselves with respect to the pins of the lamp and subsequently clamping the sleeves in position. I

In one advantageous embodiment, each sleeve is split in accordance with a plane parallel to those between which the sleeve may be clamped, the pins also being clamped in position upon clamping the sleeves.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into effect, it will now be described more fully by reference to the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a socket according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line II-II in Fig. l.

2 Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line III-III in Fig. 1.

The socket comprises'a base I, which is made of insulating material, for example artificial resin, but preferably of ceramic material in view of the high temperature expected with lamps of the type for which the socket is intended. Arranged on the base is a hollow part 2, approximately cylindrical, which is integral with the base. This part has two inner surfaces 3 and 4, which are at right angles to one another. Opposite these surfaces and parallel thereto are two other surfaces 5 and 6 on a prismatic clamping piece 7 of insulating material. The clamping piece 1 may be drawn with the use of a screw 3 and a nut 9 towards the surfaces 3 and 4. The surfaces 3, '5 and 4, 5 respectively are separated by the two contact sleeves l0 and I I of the socket. They consist of pieces of copper rod of square cross-section in which a bore is provided from above in the longitudinal direction, whilst at the bottom two holes are provided in which two mustaches l2 and t3, insulated with the use of beads, are clamped in position by means of screws I l and i5. The sleeves are furthermore split in the longitudinal direction to the said holes so as to enable the two resulting halves to be readily clamped against the pins of the lamp or tube to be inserted. The slit in each sleeve extends parallel to the surfaces between which the sleeve is clamped.

The operation of the socket is as follows. Before the lamp or tube is inserted, the clamping piece i is slightly loosened with the use of the screw 8. If, now, the pins of the lamp are introduced into the sleeves, the sleeves l0 and H can shift freely between the surfaces 3, 5 and 4, 6 respectively until they have found their correct positions. The degree of freedom with which the sleeves can shift is, of course, such as to be sufiicient to take up any deviations occurring with the pins of the lamp. Subsequently, the screw 8 is tightened so that both the sleeves in the socket and the pins in the sleeves are clamped in position. In this case a risk of breakage of the lamp or tube is not involved; Even if the pins are not exactly parallel to one another, it is still possible for the sleeves to assume corresponding positions.

It is, of course, not required for the sleeves to be split in the manner as described. They may alternatively embrace the pins of the lamp in a different manner. An advantage of the manner described is, however, that a very high contact pressure and a correspondingly low transition resistance may thus be obtained.

Finally, it is also conceivable to ensure the movability of the sleeves in mutually perpendicular planes in a manner different from that described, but the latter method is preferable owing to its simplicity.

What I claim is:

1. An electrical socket connector adapted for use with electric fixtures having two contact pins extending longitudinally and approximately parallel to each other comprising a base of insulating material having recesses for receiving the contact pins and defining a pair of guide surfaces at right angles to one another, a pair of contact sleeves slideable along said guide surfaces in said recesses and adapted to receive the contact pins, and. an adjustable member of insulating material in said base having surface portions which are approximately parallel to said guide surfaces, said contact sleeves being disposed between said guide surfaces of said base and said surface portions of said adjustable member.

2. An electrical socket connector adapted for use with electric fixtures having two contact pins extending longitudinally and approximately parallel to each other, comprising a base of insulating material having recesses for receiving the contact pins and defining a pair of guide surfaces at right angles to one another, a pair of contact sleeves slideable along said guide surfaces in said recesses and adapted to receive the contact pins, an adjustable member of insulating material within the base having surface portions parallel to said guide surfaces, said contact sleeves being disposed between said guide surfaces of said base and said surface portions of said adjustable memher, and means to adjust the said member to clamp the sleeves in said recesses.

3. An electrical socket connector adapted for use with electric fixtures having two contact pins extending longitudinally and approximately parallel to each other comprising a base of insulating material having recesses for receiving the contact pins and defining a pair of guide surfaces at right angles to one another, a pair of contact sleeves slideable along said guide surfaces in said recesses and adapted to receive the contact pins, an adjustable prismatic member of insulating material in said base having surface portions which are parallel to said guide surfaces, said contact sleeves being disposed between the parallel surface portions of the base and the member, said sleeves being split in a plane parallel to and between the parallel surface portions of the member and the. base, and means to adjust the said member to clamp the sleeve in said recesses.

JOHANNES HENDRICUS FRANCISCUS VAN WERD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,418,171 Raettig May 30, 1922 1,516,581 Seufert Nov. 25, 1924 1,872,678 Chamberlain Aug. 23, 1932 2,000,318 Cannon May 7, 193 2,289,172 Beal July 7, 1942- 2,404,682 Baker July 23, 1946 

